Copycat Pilsbury Sugar Cookies (gluten-free & vegan)

All of a sudden I have this urge to invite all my girlfriends over for a slumber party tonight as I have two logs of cookie dough setting in my fridge. This must have been a staple for any party in my household because why else would I associate the two? The Pilsbury cookie logs used to be the perfect grab-and-go for a sweet yet quick treat in my childhood, in fact it was really the only way I made cookies. Was there any other way?

I have distinct memories of cutting the edges off and nibbling out the dough from the wrapper. Makes me a bit nervous now. I knew of the risk (salmonella), I just never cared. Now I love making vegan cookie dough because I can go to town on the dough and never worry. Just what I need: An excuse to eat more cookie dough…

I have a few things to say about the assembly of this recipe before we get started. Shocker, right? I know.

Number One: If you do not want to use shortening (the purpose of shortening to keep their shape), you can always sub it out with coconut oil. Remember that if you don’t want your cookies to taste like coconut, buy the refined version. Or you can use all vegan butter. Here is my issue with that however: There is always a potential of spreading when using all vegan butter since it can be so iffy. If you are going this route first test out a cookie or two in the oven to ensure it doesn’t spread. If it does, place the cookies on the baking sheet and freeze for 15-20 minutes prior to baking like this recipe does.

Number Three: The purpose of the powdered sugar is to create more of an environment in the dough to hold it’s shape in the heat. If you don’t have it on hand nor do you want to use it, you can use regular sugar. Just know that there is a reason why the powdered version is important.

In a medium bowl, whisk the dry ingredients together (except for the sugars).

In a large bowl, cream the shortening and butter together with an electric mixer on medium speed. Add the sugars and beat in until fluffy. Add the Ener-G egg replacer, and zest until just combined.

Pour in half of the dry ingredients and stir in with a wooden spoon until mixed in. Stir in the other half of the flour.

Divide the dough into 2 balls. Form each dough ball into a log and cover with wax paper.

Chill the dough for 2+ hours.

To bake: Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Line a baking sheet with a piece of parchment paper and place into a freezer.

Remove the dough from the wax paper. Slice into desired thickness and place on the baking sheet. Sprinkle with raw sugar (optional).

Bake 8-10 minutes or until lightly browned along the edges. If you want them on the softer side, bake for 7-8 minutes. If you want a crunchier cookie, bake around 8-10 minutes. Regardless of the time you bake them at, when you take the sheet out of the oven let the cookies sit for 2-3 minutes so they can fully set.

About Cara

Native of Los Angeles, Cara is the crazy, chocolate-filled woman behind Fork & Beans. On a mission to recreate every treat known to mankind, she has every intention of making them gluten, egg, and dairy-free. Oh, and super tasty too.

Thank you for your amazing blog! My 4 year old has eosinophilic esophagitis and has to avoid gluten, dairy and eggs. Your blog is so helpful so that I can make him kid friendly alternatives. I would love to try these cookies but all I have is the Namaste flour–which contains xanthan gum. Can I still use it? Thanks!!

They WERE a staple at our house, duh! Cut-bake-eat, what could be more simple? Although, we did make cookies from scratch from time to time as I recall, but why over do it? We had Grandma’s right around the corner.
Yours do look truly yummy. You do these by the roll? – Get out!
XOXOXOX

The cookies that needed to be made homemade were the M&Ms cookies. I miss those!! Make me some, mom, STAT And Grandmas! Man, I miss that place. I should open up my own gluten, egg, and dairy-free version. hehe.

Those look delicious! the log of cookie dough reminds me of the packaged stuff (in a good way). BTW you can also make a powdered sugar sub by pulsing regular sugar in a blender/food processor with a pinch of cornstarch!

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Meet Cara…

Native of Los Angeles, Cara is the crazy, chocolate-filled woman behind Fork & Beans. On a mission to recreate every treat known to mankind, she has every intention of making them gluten, egg, and dairy-free. Oh, and super tasty too. Read more about Cara’s story here